Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879Baker, Samuel White, Sir
History
Cyprus, as I Saw It in 1879
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Cyprus -- Description and travel
that historical character, but he had left his home in Mersine (on the
coast of Asia Minor) owing to an unfortunate disagreement with his
father. In such domestic estrangements, rightly or wrongly, the fathers
generally have the best of the situation, and Georgi, having left a
comfortable home (his father being what is called "well to do"), had
taken ship, and, like many others, had steered for Cyprus, where he
arrived unknown, and quickly experienced the desolation of an utter
stranger in a foreign town. Georgi became hungry; whether he had sold
his good clothes to provide for the coats of his stomach I cannot say,
but the rags in which he first appeared to me were utterly unsaleable,
and few people would have ventured upon an engagement with so
disreputable a person. However, I liked his face; he could speak Turkish
and Arabic fluently: Greek was his mother-tongue, and he had a
smattering of French. I sent for the tailor, and had him measured for a
suit of clothes to match those of Amarn--a tunic, waistcoat,
knickerbockers, and gaiters of navy-blue serge. In a few days Georgi was
transformed into a respectable-looking servant, with his hair cut.
We left Larnaca on the 29th of January. A native two-wheeled cart
conveyed the tents and superabundant baggage. The oxen made no
difficulty, and the gipsy-van rolled easily along. An enterprising
photographer, having posted himself in a certain position near the
highway, suddenly stopped our party, and subsequently produced a
facsimile, although my dogs, who were in movement, came out with
phantom-like shadows. These useful companions were three spaniels
--"Merry," "Wise," and "Shot;" the latter had a broken foreleg through
an accident in the previous year, but he was an excellent retriever, and
could work slowly. The others were younger dogs, whose characters were
well represented by their names; the first was an untiring, determined
animal, and Wise was a steady hunter that would face the worst thorns,
and was a good retriever.
This party was now in movement, and I intended to make a preliminary
detour from the Nicosia route to visit the springs of Arpera, about
eight miles distant, which supply the town of Larnaca.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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